[unreadable] [unreadable] The 8th World Congress for Microcirculation will be a four day meeting of international researchers studying the structure and function of the microcirculation in health and disease. The scientific program focuses on five central themes in microcirculatory research including: 1) vascular development and adaptation; 2) blood flow regulation; 3) application of microcirculatory research approaches to the clinic; 4) microvessel permeability; and 5), emerging methods for studying the microcirculation. Renowned world experts will address topics of interest to the microcirculatory research community during a series of plenary lectures, symposia and workshops delivered over the four-day assembly. The World Congress will include scientific sessions, poster sessions, and workshops on a wide variety of topics of current interest to the microcirculatory and vascular biology communities. Oral presentations will include formal symposia sponsored by various microcirculatory societies throughout the world, free communications, and featured topics sessions consisting of one symposium-style lecture followed by oral presentations of submitted abstracts. Workshops will include panel discussions on funding strategies, round table discussions on emerging methodology and experimental approaches to microvascular research, and the use of novel genomic approaches to microvascular research. Major areas to be addressed during the World Congress are: 1) the application of microvascular techniques to clinical research; 2) the growth of new blood vessels in cancer and following exercise or obstruction of blood flow; 3) the potential use of stem cells in research and medicine; 4) the application of novel genetic approaches to microvascular research; 5) the application of new microscopic and non-microscopic imaging approaches to microvascular research and clinical settings; and 6), the use of mathematical approaches as a tool for understanding microcirculatory function on a local and global level. The World Congress will help to: 1) expand the research capabilities of microcirculatory investigators; 2) introduce microvascular techniques to vascular biologists and other researchers in areas where microcirculatory approaches would be beneficial, but are underutilized; and 3), increase the applicability of microcirculatory approaches to human research and clinical medicine. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]